Since the invention of the bathtub, and more particularly the apparatus used for holding a shower curtain to cover and protect the bathing area from water leakage, little has changed to increase the amount of space needed to shower and thereby improve the comfort level for the user. Various attempts in the past have been made, such as the curved shower rod, which permanently extends the shower curtain outside of the access opening. That device is used in some hotels for the convenience of the guests. However, that invention has limitations for use in the home as it takes away usable space from the bathroom outside of the shower stall or tub enclosure and can be less aesthetically pleasing. This severely limits the practical appeal and broader application for that invention. Yet another drawback is that the curved shower rod requires that it be permanently mounted or affixed to the shower stall or tub enclosure walls. In many homes this application may prove difficult or not feasible to retrofit, and often, even when it can be done, it interferes with fully opening the bathroom door without the door bumping into the curved shower rod. Further, the curved shower rod is limited in the amount of increased shower area that it can provide as the additional space is only in the middle portion of the shower rod where the rod curves outward, and not on the ends where the curved rod tapers back to the access opening.
A standard size tub having a shower stall or tub enclosure, and having a shower curtain to cover the access opening is very limited in size and comfort, as is the case in most homes. The demand for larger size accommodations for bathing is relatively new in homes today, and therefore older homes and even most of the newer ones still employ a standard size tub or shower area, and they would benefit greatly from having increased area in the shower stall or tub enclosure. A typical small shower stall or tub enclosure with a shower bar or tension rod and an attached shower curtain severely limits the movement of the users upper torso, and impedes their forward and backward movement within the shower area because of the nature of the shower environment which causes the shower curtain to billow in or attach itself to the users body when it is wet. This lack of usable area inside of a shower environment and the limitations of the shower stall or tub enclosure, due to their size, greatly detracts from the comfort level of the user.
Also, with persons having disabilities, or the elderly, the small shower environment is even more limiting in comfort and scope of use while showering. Simply getting into a small shower stall or tub enclosure and then positioning and repositioning oneself inside while showering is very problematic and extremely difficult for many in this condition, as tub seats, hand rails and other equipment are usually necessary in the tub or shower environment to assist the handicapped or the elderly. These items tend to come into contact with the shower curtain when wet from the shower environment and the shower curtain will either stick to either the equipment or to the user or both.
However, It can be very impractical to alleviate this situation, either because the small size of an existing bathroom is restrictive or that it is cost prohibitive or even impractical to remodel or enlarge a small tub or shower enclosure. It is the intent of the present invention to particularly address the many disadvantages and drawbacks of a typical small shower stall or tub enclosure, and provide relief in the form of a new and useful device for fully increasing the usable space inside a shower stall or tub enclosure along the entire length of the access opening, and making the additional increased space portably usable and temporary, so as not to diminish or take away any bathroom space outside of the shower stall or tub enclosure.